VIENNA (dpa) — A 29-year-old man claiming to be an opera producer has been arrested in Vienna after leaving an entire ensemble in the lurch with more than 400,000 euros (US$480,000) debts, newspaper reports said last week.

Last week the man calling himself Peter Kafka disappeared after letting down the opera festival production Leonora on the eve of its planned premiere at Vienna's Palais Schwarzenberg on Wednesday [10 August].

Director Wolfgang Ritzberger was left with a finished production and fully rehearsed ensemble and orchestra, but without any money.

Police said the producer, who had constantly told his troupe that "money's not a problem", had left debts everywhere up till his arrest on Monday [8 August].

The troupe said they were hurt because they desperately wanted to perform. After the pseudo-producer, named by police as "Peter W.", went underground, there were many offers of help.

Spokesmen for the ensemble said they would in fact have a venue to perform, but "everything depends on the financing". The team needed about 60,000 euros.

Police charged that "Peter W." was a habitual fraudster who had previously been in conflict with the law in Salzburg and Munich. In the latter city he had worked for a time as a waiter, and singer at various parties.

Ritzberger said he did not quite understand how the fraudulent producer had intended to profit. He had possibly planned to abscond with sponsors' money or ticket fees.

Phoney? How could they tell, standards for opera production are so . . . flexible? If Peter Sellars can have some of his offerings taken seriously, how were these folks to know?

John - The reason Beethoven's is called Fidelio is because he tried to call it Leonora and got in some legal trouble because Paer beat him to the story and the name. I prefer the Paer myself - it's more comic and more about mistaken identity, like a proper 18th Century opera. The article don't say who the composer is. There could be a dozen operas by the same name with different plots for all I know.

Corlyss_D wrote:Phoney? How could they tell, standards for opera production are so . . . flexible? If Peter Sellars can have some of his offerings taken seriously, how were these folks to know?

John - The reason Beethoven's is called Fidelio is because he tried to call it Leonora and got in some legal trouble because Paer beat him to the story and the name. I prefer the Paer myself - it's more comic and more about mistaken identity, like a proper 18th Century opera. The article don't say who the composer is. There could be a dozen operas by the same name with different plots for all I know.

I knew all that, and you may be right, but it is about as unlikely as that anybody gives a public performance of "someone else's" Diabelli Variations.

You might want to consider dropping the facetious incorrect use of the second person if you want to live up to your recent compliment from Michael.

There's nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself.
-- Johann Sebastian Bach

My life would be diminished if I could not occasionally give literality to Ralph's facetious references (and then have him come back and pretend to contradict me). He means, of course, that Fidelio is largely about a prison.

There's nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself.
-- Johann Sebastian Bach

My life would be diminished if I could not occasionally give literality to Ralph's facetious references (and then have him come back and pretend to contradict me). He means, of course, that Fidelio is largely about a prison.

*****

Let the punishment fit the crime!

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."